Victims of Odessa mass shooting
ODESSA, Texas (KCBD/AP) - Seven people were killed, another 22 were injured, and the accused gunman was gunned down in a frenzy of violence on Saturday, Aug. 31 in Odessa, Texas.
The seven killed were between the ages of 15 and 57.
According to officials with the Odessa Police Department, the accused shooter, 36-year-old Seth Aaron Ator of Odessa, was fired from his job Saturday morning at Journey Oilfield Service. When he left he called 911 complaining about how he was fired. The company also called 911 complaining about how Ator left. When he got off the phone with 911 dispatch, he left Journey Oilfield Service. He was gone before police arrived.
Authorities say he then called the FBI national tip line. FBI officials say Ator was rambling to them, but made no threats of any kind. Just after he got off the phone with the FBI, he was pulled over by a DPS Trooper for not using his turn signal.
Officials with OPD say Ator went west on I-20, shooting at innocent civilians along the way. He entered Odessa city limits and shot more civilians. He then ended up in the 3800 block of North Adams and North Dixie where he carjacked the postal worker and killed her. He abandoned his gold car there.
He took the mail van and continued on his shooting spree, killing more, until police, DPS and other agencies made contact with him at Cinergy movie theater in Odessa. Gunfire was exchanged between Ator and the officers on the scene. A police vehicle rammed the mail van and Ator was killed.
There were seven people killed in the mass shooting.
Mail carrier 29-year-old Mary Granados was alone in her U.S. Postal Service truck when she was shot and killed by the gunman who carjacked her white mail van.
US Postal Service officials issued a statement Sunday saying they were shocked and saddened and were “especially grieving the loss of our postal family member.”
Mary has a twin sister.
Peregrino, 25, ran into the yard of his parents’ Odessa home to investigate after hearing gunshots, his sister, Eritizi Peregrino, told The Washington Post. The gunman speeding by the home opened fire, killing him.
"It happened at our home. You think you're safe at your own house," Eritizi Peregrino, 23, said in an interview. "You're not even safe at your own house."
Eritizi Peregrino's husband also was shot. She said he is recovering.
Eritizi Peregrino said her brother was home for the weekend to talk about his new job and his new life in San Antonio.
"You could always count on him for anything," she said. "He would always help my parents and his siblings. I knew I could always rely on him and call on him."
Leilah, 15, was with her family Saturday as her 18-year-old brother, Nathan, picked up a truck. Nathan and Leilah were shot while walking out of the dealership, her grandmother, Nora Leyva, told the Post.
"I guess he was just looking for someone to kill," she said.
Leyva said Leilah's mother pushed Leilah's 9-year-old brother under a car. Nathan wrapped his arms around Leilah and was shot in the arm. Another bullet struck Leilah near her collarbone.
"Help me, help me," the girl said as she died, Leyva said.
Leilah, an Odessa High School student, celebrated her quinceañera in May.
"It was like a dream for her," Leyva said.
Odessa High's school district, the Ector County Independent School District, didn't name Leilah but said one of its students was among those killed.
Students and faculty across West Texas are wearing yellow on Tuesday, Sept. 3 to “symbolize hope” and "in memory of Leilah.
Griffith, 40, was killed while sitting at a traffic light with his wife and two children, his oldest sister, Carla Byrne, told the Post.
"This maniac pulled up next to him and shot him, took away his life, murdered my baby brother. Like nothing," Byrne said. "We are so broken."
Byrne said Griffith, 40, worked six days a week to support his family. He was known for his sense of humor and an uncanny ability to impersonate people.
Griffith previously worked as a math teacher. One day before his death, a former student told Griffith what an "awesome teacher he was," his sister said.
Rudy was brutally shot and killed while driving home from work in the recent Odessa active shooting. Rudy was a father, and friend who’s life was ended way too soon.
U.S. Army veteran, 30-year-old Kameron Brown, was tragically shot while inside of his vehicle in front of Ratliff stadium. At one point in the gunman’s violent series of events, he made his way to Yukon and Grandview after he stole the mail van.
Garcia, 34, was a truck driver. He was shot and killed on I-20. He left behind his mother, sister, brother and three boys.
There have been reports of 25 people injured in the mass shooting. We only have names of 23 of the victims. If there is a GoFundMe page associated with the victim, it is linked with their name.
- Nathan Hernandez, 18, of Odessa
- Marc Gonzales, 38, of Odessa
- Zachary Owens, Midland Police Department
- Timmoth Beard, 55, San Antonio
- James Santana, Odessa Police Department
- Glenda Dempsy, 62, of Odessa
- Marco Corral, 62, of San Diego, CA
- Coy Edge, 53, of Odessa
- Joseph Glide, 60, Odessa
- Anderson Davis, 17-month-old, Odessa
- Daniel Munoz, 28, Yuma, AZ
- Robert Cavasoz, 38, Alice, TX
- Maria Boado, 27, of Haileah, FL
- Efe Obayagbona, 45, of Round Rock, TX
- Bradley Grimsley, 64, of Clarksville, TX
- Chuck Pryor, Texas Department of Public Safety
- Timmothy Hardaway, 54, of Brownwood, TX
- Quadri Fatai, 41, Houston
- Jesus Alvidrez, 21, of Gardendale
- Lilia Diaz, 46, of Odessa
- Krystal Lee, 36, of Odessa
- Larry Shores, 34, of Abilene
- Juvenile Male, 9, Odessa
Copyright 2019 KCBD. All rights reserved. The Associated Press Contributed to this report.
